In a major development, Bhojpuri star Pawan Singh on Sunday declined to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from West Bengal's Asansol constituency. This comes a day after he was named in the BJP's first list of candidates for the upcoming general elections.
Taking to X, Singh also expressed his gratitude to the top leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party. "The party trusted me and declared me as the candidate from Asansol, but due to some reason, I will not be able to contest the elections from Asansol…" he posted.
The selection of Singh, a 38-year-old resident of Bihar, as the candidate for the Bengal seat had ignited a substantial row on social media platforms. Several individuals raised concerns regarding Singh's past work, particularly his discography, which contains several songs featuring "objectionable references" to Bengali women.
TMC slams BJP for fielding Pawan Singh
West Bengal minister and TMC leader Babul Supriyo had also slammed the BJP for fielding Singh from Asansol. "Have always said, that BJP is anti-Bengali - the fact that they didn't give a cabinet seat to any Bengali in the 10 years they are in power is proof enough for that but now fielding Pawan Singh from Asansol shows their insensitivity against Bengali women," he posted on X.
What did BJP leader Tathagata Roy say?
Meanwhile, BJP leader Tathagata Roy had also called for a "fresh look" at the Asansol candidate after the selection of Pawan Singh. "Unlike TMC, where candidature is decided by the whims and fancies of one woman, BJP chooses its candidates on a systematic survey. However, the surveyors are not infallible nor free from prejudice. A FRESH LOOK AT ASANSOL IS CALLED FOR. IMMEDIATELY (sic)," Roy wrote on X.
Pawan Singh on allegations against him
Meanwhile, a post has also appeared in the name of Pawan Singh in which it has been said, "Continuous efforts have been made by BJP for the prosperity of West Bengal. Dozens of schemes run by Shri Narendra Modi have not been fully implemented in Bengal even today because the local government here is not in favour of development. Today many leaders of Trinamool Congress are furious and are making wild allegations against BJP and me as well. I have not sung any song which would hurt the civilization and people of Bengal. Making such low-level allegations by Trinamool Congress leaders shows their frustration and defeat."
BJP releases first list of candidates for Lok Sabha polls
On Saturday (March 2), the ruling BJP announced Prime Minister Narendra Modi would fight again from Varanasi in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections as it named 34 Union ministers including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani in the first list of 195 candidates. The list also included two former chief ministers -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Madhya Pradesh) and Biplab Deb (Tripura) -- as well as Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who will fight again from Kota in Rajasthan.
